Every Monday PopcornBiz applies a special formula to the top 10-grossing movies of the weekend, taking into account their staying power, budget and critic ratings to determine who really won the weekend. We call it the PopcornBiz Standings.

There's something utterly depressing about the existence of "New Year's Eve" at the top of the box office chart this week. I mean, I knew it would make money because people are bored and have nothing better to do than to sit there and watch a 90-minute update of a "Love Boat" episode. But it saddens me that THIS represents a major Hollywood release during the holiday season. It's December, and we're already being offered January horribleness. Thankfully, we have "Mission: Impossible" and "Sherlock Holmes" coming to save Christmas next week. But for the past two weeks, everything has been horrible. So let us never forget this 2011 Year in Movies, which will go down as the WORST EVER EVER, and let us wish it a hasty exit. Here is the final box office chart via Box Office Mojo.

Why "Mission Impossible: Tom Cruise Jumps Out Of Things" couldn't have been released this past week is beyond me. Anyway, this was the lowest grossing film-going weekend of the ENTIRE YEAR. How is that possible in the middle of a peak season? It's akin to Hollywood devoting Memorial Day weekend to nothing but Katherine Heigl movies. It's awful. At least our formula wipes "New Year's Eve" off the face of the Earth. VOILA!

Poor reviews doomed both NYE and "The Sitter" to low numbers in our formula. Meanwhile, the juggernaut that is ALEXANDER PAYNE reigns supreme for yet another week, and the Oscar chances for "The Descendants" could help it settle in for an extended run through early winter. I saw it myself, and lemme tell you: If you like tropical settings and crying, there's no better movie.

Two other new releases came out this week: Diablo Cody's "Young Adult" and the badass British spy thriller "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy". Both had excellent per-screen averages, so don't be shocked if they storm into the top 10 once they get wide releases.

Published at 2:18 PM CST on Dec 12, 2011 | Updated at 1:40 PM CDT on May 30, 2012